The present invention relates to devices for covering holes in doors and, more specifically, to a door hole cover for covering a door hole after a door lock or the like has been removed from the door.
To install a dead bolt lock or a door knob in a door, a circular hole usually is drilled through the door. Later, when the lock or knob is no longer necessary or desired, a hole is left in the door if the lock or knob is removed from the door. For aesthetic and security reasons, so-called door hole covers have been developed to cover the hole left in a door after removal of a lock or knob. One type of door hole cover consists of two circular cover plates, one placed on each side of the door, which are clamped against the door and over the door hole by a screw passing through the door hole. These cover plates typically have small dimples near the outer edges of the plates that contact the door to help maintain the cover plates in frictional contact against the inside and outside surfaces of the door.
Door hole covers of the type described above, however, have suffered from several known disadvantages. For example, if the screw loosens, the cover plates will lose their frictional contact with the door and the plates will drop downward with respect to the door hole. In many instances, the screw will fall to the bottom of the door hole leaving the door hole only partially covered by the plates. In addition, temperature and humidity variations in some environments will cause the door to expand and contract. If such expansion and contraction is sufficient, the frictional contact between the door and the cover plates will be lost over time and the door hole cover will drop.
Another significant drawback associated with the door hole cover described above concerns the susceptability of the plates to tampering by a burglar or intruder. For example, a burglar may pry between one of the cover plates and the door to bend the cover plate so that it is no longer in frictional contact against the door surface, causing the door hole cover to drop downward in the door hole. In addition, a burglar may hammer against the edge of the cover plate, forcing the door hole cover toward the bottom of the hole. In either instance, the hole in the door can be exposed for further tampering and opportunity for unwanted entry.
Hence, not only is the partially covered hole aesthetically undesirable, but it also allows the potential for access through the door permitting possible tampering or entry. Thus, for security reasons it is very desirable to prevent the door hole cover from dropping in the door hole when subjected to forced entry attempts, loosened screws or variations in temperature or humidity.
In addition, it is known that door hole size varies depending upon the type of hardware installed in the door. For example, the door hole for a dead bolt lock is sometimes smaller than the hole for a door knob. Typically, different sized cover plates are used for each different sized hole. Using different sized cover plates requires that several different sized hole covers be manufactured and kept in stock. However, this undesirably increases manufacturing and administrative costs.
Accordingly, there has existed a definite need for a door hole cover that reliably covers a door hole and that can be used to cover several different sized door holes. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides further related advantages.